


A Terribly Cliche Love Story

by Sarifinasnightmare



Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types
Genre: April hates chick flicks, F/M, Nobody seems to take Mikey's dib seriously
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-28
Updated: 2014-09-28
Packaged: 2018-02-19 02:20:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,873
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2370839
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sarifinasnightmare/pseuds/Sarifinasnightmare
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>April O'Neil hates chick flicks. Leonardo loves April. Mikey called dibs though.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Terribly Cliche Love Story

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Kryka83](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kryka83/gifts).



> Kryka83's Leopril prompts strike again. I wonder if I'll complete them all. What will I write then?
> 
> List number 5. Leo has different ways of showing his affection to April, some she notices, others are pointed out by his brothers and Splinter.

It was not love at first sight; not at all. The first time Leonardo laid eyes on April O’Neil all he saw was a serious threat to the safety of his family that had to be neutralized quickly. His apology and words deliberately carried with them an undertone of danger when he spoke to her and while he had no true desire to harm her, his last words to her on the roof were honest. Their second meeting was even further proof that he kept his word and throwing his arm around her shoulder was only to give her the smallest hint of the strength he and his brothers bore.

Once Splinter clarified who she was and why he had been worried for her, Leo saw April a lot more differently. This petite woman was their _hogosha_ and as the events violently unfolded before them he realized that he had made a mistake in underestimating her. She was like a katana; slender and beautiful to look at but sharp and dangerous as well. He was not blind, her femininity was appealing, but her fearlessness was the ultimate aphrodisiac to him. Yet despite the allure, Leo did nothing nor made his desire for her clear. Why?

Mikey called dibs.

It seemed so ridiculous, but Leo was respectful of his brothers’ wishes for the most part and he hated to admit it but he had a soft spot for his youngest brother. Mikey was crushing badly on April and he didn’t have the heart to hurt his feelings, so being the leader he was, Leo chose to do nothing about his own growing affections for their _hogosha_ and gave Mikey his chance.

This did not stop Leonardo from showing his affection and he didn’t feel guilty from doing so. After all, each brother cared for April and demonstrated it in their own way. Leo always made sure to acknowledge her comings and goings with a bow or solemn nod. His tone when he spoke to her was always lined with respect and courtesy. If he knew she was coming he would immediately start cleaning the place up and he’d fuss at his brothers if they even had a thought of making a mess. Whenever she decided to eat with them he made sure Splinter and April were served first. He also took her plate and washed it without complaint. All this and more of these little things he did over the months, because it was only right to make their lovely _hogosha_ happy. When she was happy he was content.

Content stopped being enough the day she went above and beyond normal aide. Splinter during one of his foraging, impaled his foot on something very sharp inside a bag of medical waste.  He came down with an illness quickly. Donnie assured them that the mutagen in their systems would kick in, but that their father needed to be kept in a clean environment. April immediately offered her apartment and would not be dissuaded. Using the spare room her former roommate moved out of, Splinter was installed there for the nearly two weeks and during that time her tiny apartment became overcrowded with four giant turtles jostling about. It was there that Leo saw her dote and fuss over his father; her every action genuine with care and when he saw her exhausted, frumpy form slumped over a table, her bowl of cereal half-eaten, he realized that he could no longer call what he felt for her a simple affection.

He had fallen in love completely by accident and instantly he felt guilty. Mikey, he would never hurt him. April, she had never shown any special fondness for Leo and he abhorred the idea of having to make her deal with emotions she had not meant to invoke.

Leonardo took a deep, shaky breath, and then steadily released it before urging Mikey to carry April to her room and tuck her into bed. He was the leader; a leader was selfless and thought of the greater good. He was a part of her life and she was part of his family. It would be enough.

Splinter healed, he returned to the sewers with his sons. Life moved on, Leo loved April from a respectful distance; Donnie improved the lair security, Raph calmed down slightly now that he had Foot soldiers to take his emotions out on and Mikey was ever charming.

Charming, but not a fool and he began to suspect something was amiss with his eldest brother. For instance he would break meditation whenever April arrived which was something he would never do before. If Mikey managed to snag some movie time alone with April, Leo would make sure he had the snacks she liked. He even knew what her favorite wine was! Mikey was baffled when Leo gave it to him to give to her and he had to ask how he found out. Leo hesitated for a second and confessed that he had seen a half empty bottle in her fridge when he had been organizing it.

Leo was hesitating when he spoke of April. He knew her favorite things. He was cleaning after her!

No way, thought Mikey. Was the leader without fear actually crushing?

Now Mikey was the one who was observing and he soon realized while he had been flirting and amusing the lady of their lives, his brother had been behaving in a way that could only be called pining. He couldn’t really guess the true depths of Leo’s feelings for April until her birthday rolled around. They had made an effort to make it a special day and even when she asked for nothing they still managed to give her gifts. Mikey had put all his skills into an excellent cake, Donatello had restored a tablet and filled it with all her favorite movies and TV series. Raphael proudly had given April her own pair of sai since she had expressed a desire to learn the weapon. Leonardo gave her his own copy of Bushido: The Way of the Samurai. April was pleased by all of it, but she obviously didn’t notice the shock that went through them all. Leo had given her a book that he had cherished above all his meager possessions. He lived, breathed and loved each word and followed the philosophy with every fiber of his being. He just gave a part of HIMSELF to her without hesitation and the implication of it went clear over her head.

“Donnie what does it mean?” Mikey had asked his brother when they had a moment alone.

“It’s obvious that it means that Leonardo is in love with April and April has no clue despite everything that he’s done for her.” Donatello replies matter-of-factly as he text away on one of his many tablets and iPads.

“That’s because he’s being subtle. Why doesn’t he just tell her?”

“Well that’s obvious too. You called dibs. Leo is too noble to even think about confessing feelings to a girl that you’re still crushing on. You know how he is; others before himself.”

“And _you_ knew about this for _how_ long?” asked Mikey.

Donnie finally looked up at his brother, pushed up his glasses and shrugged. “11 months, 3 weeks, 9 days, 1 hour ago.”

Mikey rolled his eyes. “Thanks, _Spock_!”

Raphael was even less help. He knew about his brother’s affections for April too, but as par the course, he got angry.

“-Showing off by giving her that book. She’s family now and he shouldn’t do anything to mess it up.”

“April doesn’t even understand what it is he gave her. She just thinks it’s a nice book.”  Mike protested.

“She’ll wise up. She ain’t stupid. When she finds out, she’s gonna get upset and leave us.”

“She isn’t _heartless_ either!” Mikey retorted. “She says we’re family. Family we’ll stay. Besides, Leo probably won’t say anything. He’s been quiet about it for a while; he’ll probably stay quiet even on his deathbed.”

“Hey! Don’t talk about that!” Raph snapped, grinding his toothpick.

Mikey threw his hands up. “My bad. I just…..don’t understand why he’s being so quiet.”

“I’m wonderin’ why _you_ aren’t upset that he’s in love with your _girl_.” He said sarcastically his large fingers quoting around the word girl.

Mikey decided not to answer and walked away to think a bit. No, he wasn’t upset about his big brother being in love with April; he should be but he wasn’t. He actually felt a little guilty for wasting time. He did have a crush on April and flirting with her was one of his favorite things to do, especially now that she knew him better and played back. However learning that Leonardo was genuinely in love and had stepped back without complaint so that Mikey’s feelings wouldn’t be hurt made him feel like he had disappointed him by not taking it seriously. That Leo _believed_ in Mikey’s ability touched his heart more than any kiss on the cheek April had given him. The family seemed to expect little from him, but his big brother didn’t and Mikey suddenly wanted to make it up to him. Leo took care of everyone; about time someone thought of Leo.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

April was only mildly surprised when Mikey came to see her on a work day. He tended to stop by for a chat now and then, sometimes bearing a small gift or two. Today it was hydrangeas in a beautiful blue/purple shade. 

“These are my favorite flowers. Thank you Mikey.” She said taking them from him as so she can put them in a vase.

“One of the guys told me.” Mikey admitted, rubbing his head.

“How thoughtful of them to tell you.” She replied, admiring her gift.

“They-he also told me you prefer M&M peanuts to regular.”  He added.

“Observant too.” She said realizing that Mikey hadn’t thrown himself in the couch as was usual. Instead he continued to talk.

“He also knows you like your coffee black with a lot of sugar and that you hate watermelon and that you hate chick flicks except for Steel Magnolia and….”

April quickly put both her hands over his mouth to stop him. “Mikey why are you telling me all these things that the guys or “guy” knows about me? Has he been coaching you in how to flirt with me all this time?”

Mikey nodded, her hands firmly clamped over his mouth. “JowWlobwayootbivotnellvuv.”

“What?” She frowns and takes her hands down.

“He loves you, but he won’t tell you.” He repeats.

“Wait, what? Mikey? Are you joking because if it is it’s not funny.” She frowned, moving away from him.

“I’m not joking. My brother loves you but he hasn’t said anything because he wanted me to….um….see if we….” He gestured awkwardly between the two of them. “Please don’t hate me for thinking that!”

April sighed. This was Vern all over again. “Mikey I couldn’t hate you. I love you…..but not _love_ you and it’s not because you’re a turtle. I think all of you guys, once I got to know you better, are actually quite good looking and I know that you guys are going to be saving other girls out there who will just _swoon_. I’m not bullshitting I mean it. You are sweet, funny and now that you learned how to dial back the come ons, you’re much more charming. Donnie is tall, lean and smart. Raph’s got the muscles and the bad boy attitude that girls adore and Leo’s handsome and mysterious; girls love a challenge........Wait, which one of them loves me??”

Mikey shifted nervously. “I….uh….um…..won’t tell you.”

April had to blink. The turtle she _thought_ loved her romantically just told her another turtle loved her romantically and he wasn’t going to spill???

Her brows drew down in a terrific frown and she grabbed the 6’2” turtle by the chest straps and hauled him so close to her that he thought she was going to peel the skin off his body with the intensity of her laser blue eyes. “Mikey, you are turning this into a chick flick moment and you know I **_hate_** chick flicks. If you don’t tell me who it is right now I will take your nun chucks and shove them so far up your shell that you’ll be spitting out the chain!!”

Mikey closed his eyes and blurted out, “Ican’ttellyou,becausehehasbeendoingallthesethingsforyouandtyouhaven’tnoticedandifItellyouandyoudon’tlovehimbackthenyou’lljustbreakhisheartandIlovemybrothertoomuchtoletthathappen!!”

April moaned in despair and released him. “Mikey!”

He took a breath and added, “You’re a reporter! Do some research and figure it out. Good luck!”

He turned to flee, but April snatched his large hand between her small two. “I need a clue at least!”

Mikey turned awkwardly, half his body already out the window. “Just look at your birthday presents! And it’s not me. There! One down, three to go. Good night!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

April wanted to forget that Mikey ever gave her the awkward information that he did, but her once her journalist mind got a hold of new life-changing information, well, she might as well kiss sleep good bye.

Of course the main question was, did she want to pursue it? Mikey confirmed that his brother didn’t want anyone to know and wasn’t planning to do anything about it so maybe she should just let it lie. But she was terribly curious as to whom it was, yet if she found out what would she do? Let him down gently? Give it a try? Could she love a turtle?

Well, she loved the guys already, but like family. Could she love one of them more? She hadn’t lied when she said that they were all handsome. Once they start saving the damsels in distress the guys will have a fan girl or two just drooling over themselves. She will admit that she relished being the only girl in their lives right now and she could have all the green eye candy to herself. All those muscles, beautiful eyes and exotic bodies were very tempting.  Watching them train was secretly one of her favorite pastimes.

Yes, she could care for them more, but who is it that loves her and she had failed to notice. Mikey said to look at her birthday presents so she went to fetch each one and laid them on the bed with her. Legs crossed she studied the three objects on her blanket. A tablet of her favorite entertainment, a pair of sais, a book. The tablet was used, but the screen and shell had been replaced; lovingly cleaned with care like Donnie did with all his equipment. There was nothing truly personal about it except for the movie and TV series uploaded onto it. He even put shows that he thought she might like.

Raphael was pleased as punch when he gave her the sais. These were also used, but cleaned and polished until it shone and the hilts were wrapped in mustard yellow leather. He had been training her how to use them ever since and he relished her company.

Leonardo’s book was the least complicated. He might have been raised a ninja, but in his heart lay a samurai and even though she hasn’t gotten around to reading it yet she knew it was special to him, therefore he wanted to share it with her. She cracked the book open finally and on the inside of the hardcover it read “Property of Leonardo” but on the opposite side was a nice sticker that had “Property of” beautifully written on it and “April” written in Leo’s neat handwriting. She thumbed through the pages, noticing how some pages had eraser marks on them. He had gone through the trouble to erase the notes he had scribbled on the margins. April was surprised how much he had cleaned it up. There were signs of age in the pages; he must’ve gone through this book over and over again. He had told her that his gift was nothing special, but the evidence told her otherwise. Why would he make so little of something so special to him? Why would he give her a book he clearly loved?

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

April O’Neil was a woman of action, but even she realized it might have been a stupid idea to go down to the lair at midnight to confront Leonardo about his feelings. However knowing she could not rest until she sorted it out and realizing she would still have to present herself at work tomorrow she kissed sleep good bye and downed three Red Bulls. 

The huge iron door swung loudly and she heard the mutters of surprise and the squeaks of their beds as they rolled out of them to confront whoever was coming. They were all in a state of half-dressed. Bandanas were on, but the padding and equipment were off. A lot more flesh was on display than she’d ever seen.

“Oh yeah, you guys definitely won’t have a problem finding girlfriends.” She blurted out, and then flushed with embarrassment. Perhaps three energy drinks and no sleep wasn’t the best thing.

Donnie’s browridges shot up. “What??”

“April, are you alright?” Leonardo asked concerned.

“Just fine. Three energy drinks. Leonardo we need to talk in private. Right now please.” She said wanting him alone.

Her short, point sentences made Leo pause, but he nodded slowly. “Sure, give me two minutes and we’ll go somewhere to talk.”

The others watched dumbly as Leonardo put on his gear and took April out of the lair. Once the great door closed they looked at each other.

“The hell??” Raphael asked, scratching his head.

Mikey fidgeted. “This all might be my fault.”

“Mikey what did you do??” His two remaining brothers demanded.

Before any physical damage could be done, a cranky Splinter emerged and ordered them to bed. For once eager to obey, Mikey dove into his bed and buried himself under the covers while mentally hoping that he had made the best decision for two people he loved.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 Once they found a private place to talk April began to do just that.

“Most of the guys who have gone out with me usually have been very upfront with their intentions.” She began. “You’re the first one to do nothing.”

Leonardo froze at her words and for a moment thought about denying any attraction, but he knew that would be stupid of him and insulting to her. “It seemed like the right thing to do. You are family and I don’t want you to be uncomfortable. Plus I couldn’t hurt Mikey.”

“You thought Mikey had a better chance than you?” She asked softly, folding her arms over her chest.

He shrugged. “He does know the better jokes and he’s sincere about his feelings.”

“And you’re not sincere about your feelings?” She took a few steps closer to him. Leo didn’t move. “Do you love me Leonardo?”

Leo’s eyes widen, then looked away. April refused to let him move away and took his large hand in her grip. “I think you do and as I think about it, I start to see the pattern…..”

“…..At first I thought it was all because of the _hogosha_ deal, but that book.” She pressed her thumb against his palm and his large hand curled gently around it. “Your identity was in that book, Leo and you gave it to me so carelessly without giving me an idea of how precious it should’ve been.”

“It was not a careless gesture; I knew you would take care of it and it’s there on the shelf with all your other books as it should be.” Leo countered. “April my loving you doesn’t require you to love me back. I’m a giant turtle and I can’t give you any of the things you would hope for from a proper guy.” His blue eyes were calm and sincere as he continued, “I would love you and respect you even if you eventually found someone, married, and had kids.”

April blinked at the most selfless, romantic thing anyone had ever said to her. “Dammit Leonardo, you just turned this into a chick flick.”

He frowned. “What?”

The confusion got worse when she cupped his face, dragged him down and kissed him. He jerked and squirmed, fighting the urge not to push her back.

April pulled back and let out a deep breath. “Just as I thought. You don’t know how to kiss.” Leo moved away in complete embarrassment and she quickly consoled him. “No, no, no, it’s okay. Practice makes perfect.”

“Practice?” He echoed, then feeling like an idiot for only parroting out words he elaborated. “You want to do this again? You want a relationship.”

Now it was her turn to feel a little embarrassed and ran a figidity hand through her hair. “You can’t expect a girl to hear a declaration of love and not fall in love a little. I mean it’s not as if I’m immune to your charms, Leo.”

“I’m not charming. Polite at best, stand-offish somewhat, emotionally constipated at worst.” Leonardo replied, recalling some of the things his brothers have said of him.

April shrugged. “I’m no catch either. I’m stubborn, forgetful, suffer from bouts of selfishness and if you push my buttons, downright bitchy.”

Leo smiled, but it faded when a thought occurred to him. “Mikey. He still has feelings for you. I don’t want to hurt him.”

“He’s the one who lead me to you. I think he’s okay with us giving this a try.” She replied. “Are you okay with it?”

“This could hurt.”

“Yeah, but regret feels worse and I would be upset if I look back and wished I had the guts to allow myself to fall in love with a tall, attractive mutant turtle with a really handsome face and beautiful blue eyes.”

The compliment was so unexpected and so lavish that he felt himself blushing. She wanted to try; perhaps he should do the honorable thing and give her what she wished.

“We….we should go slowly.” He offered tentatively.

“Yeah, slow is good.” April suddenly felt sheepish as a thought occurred to her. “That was your first kiss, wasn’t it? Oh Lord.”

“It’s fine. No harm done.”

“Come here.” She ordered crooking her finger at him.

Leo had never been ordered quite like that before, but even he understood the first part of a relationship is communication and cooperation, so he did as he was told and stopped before her.

“Put your hands around my waist.” She told him and she felt a shiver as those large hands cupped around her hips. Blunt fingers spread on her back. She reached up to clasp his face again and gently tilted his head. “Slowly and gently.”

This time was better and when she felt just the slightest tremble from him, she remembered; this was no man with a hidden agenda just trying to get into her pants, this young man with the muscles, the shell and the angel eyes  was special and ought to be cherished. Funny, that might be exactly what he was thinking of her. Perhaps this might work out well after all.

 

The End.....I think.

**Author's Note:**

> I don't think any of the other writers of April/turtle in question have ever given any consideration to Mikey being serious about his dib. I think Leo would be respectful about it. I'm not complete satisfied with this. I might add more if I'm up to it.


End file.
